Primarily a collection of news links about all 10 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.

1. Gary Waters has high praise for Anton Grady, the freshman from Cleveland Central Catholic. The coach said he expects the 6-8 power forward "to play quite a bit." He praised Grady for his work ethic, for his ability "to pick up what we are doing really quick." He said if Grady concentrates, "he can become a dominant rebounder."

2. Waters also praised the coaches and teachers at Central Catholic for "installing a lot of discipline in Anton." He said Grady hasn't missed a class or been late for anything. He believes Grady has the most natural basketball ability of any recruit in his six years at CSU. Yes, Norris Cole is the best player in the Waters Era, but remember how CSU was Cole's only Division I offer.

3. Waters plans to start his five veterans -- Jeremy Montgomery and Tre Harmon in the backcourt, Aaron Pogue at center with D'Aundray Brown and Tim Kamczyc at forward. All are seniors except Kamczyc. Waters believes Harmon (13.2 points last season) can be the team's leading scorer. Cole -- the only starter not returning -- was a 21-point scorer last season and is now with the Miami Heat.

4. Brown missed all of last season with a wrist injury. He could be the team's best all-around player as he's a superior defender and effective rebounder at 6-4. In 2009-10, he averaged 8.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 51 percent.

5. Waters raved about freshman Charlie Lee, saying the 5-9 point guard could "play a lot this season. Of all the freshman, he's the most ready to play right now."

6. Pogue has lost 22 pounds, dropping from 285 to 263. At 6-9, Pogue had some very good moments inside, but has been foul prone. The hope is fewer pounds translates into more mobility and fewer fouls.

7. Sebastian Douglas was a redshirt last season after a knee injury. He is a 6-4 guard from Houston. When Harmon was out for a while in training camp with a concussion, Douglas took his spot in the starting lineup. "We just have so much more depth than last year," Waters said. The Vikings were 27-9 last season, 13-5 in the Horizon League. They went to the NIT, and have been picked to finish third in the Horizon once again.

8. Former Vikings Josh McCoy and Charlie Woods have transferred to Division II Missouri-St. Louis, where they are immediately eligible to play. The same is true of Shaker Heights product Anthony Wells, who transferred to Indiana (Pa.).

The Red Storm will certainly be tested. Lavin's charges have the Big East schedule, as challenging as always. And that's topped off with a non-conference table featuring games on the road at Rupp Arena in Kentucky, at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke, and at a Detroit team that will be in the Horizon's league's top tier as well....But there are potential upsets from lower-level teams that may leave people with question marks - Fordham, St. Francis and Detroit....As for Detroit, it’s a bit of a trap game, coming after the big game at Rupp Arena and being a national stage for the Titans as Dick Vitale has the court named in his honor.

Who's the key player for Michigan State this season? In my opinion it's not a returner or a recruit, but a transfer: Brandon Wood. Sparty, even with the loss of Delvon Roe, is going to be strong in the frontcourt with Draymond Green, Derrick Nix, Adreian Payne, Russell Byrd and star recruit Brandon Dawson, among others. But the backcourt? They've been so dependent on Kalin Lucas to create offense the past few years, and he will be gone. The only returner with any real experience is Keith Appling, who I like as a player, but who is certainly no Kalin Lucas. There are no other backcourt returners that played significant minutes last season, while 2011 recruits Brandon Kearney and Travis Trice are not expected to be immediate big time producers. But Brandon Wood? He was a star at Valparaiso last season, putting up 16.7 points and 3.1 assists per game with a 53.1 eFG%. He might end up being Michigan State's #1 scoring option this year. He's definitely the player to watch here.